“It was generally assumed that the wall was a good thing because it kept the news product pure and that’s the way it was for decades and decades in the news industry,” he further said as quoted in a story on the panel in the Daily News.

Daily News editor-in-chief Jim Rich, one of the panelists, said media try to attract the biggest audience via excellent coverage. “I’ve always thought that the wall was a bit of an illusion,” he said. “When you ask me what the business model is…to me it’s about attracting an audience, we’re just using different platforms.”

Priya Ganapati, Quartz product designer, said, “I’m talking to editors every day, I’m in all the edit meetings, so I’m part of the conversation. It’s very collaborative and it’s a conversation between different people who understand, ‘I have to know what I’m selling.’”

Editors Must Know “Platforms”

Bustle editor-in-chief Kate Ward said newsrooms must know their platforms and their audiences in order to sell their product. She said creativity is important when it comes to product and connecting with Bustle’s targeted audience.

Quartz is a digital global news medium owned by Atlantic Media Co., publisher of The Atlantic, National Journal, and Government Executive. It has 175 staffers who cover business topics worldwide.

“Americans with a great/fair amount of trust in media” is a current chart on Quartz showing that it fell from 70% in 2005 among Democrats to 52% currently, and among Republicans, from 53% in 1998 to 12% currently. The average is around 30%.

Bustle, founded in 2013 by Bryan Goldberg, co-founder of Bleacher Report, reaches tens of millions of women monthly. It was described as “hugely successful” by Slate.

The Daily News, in announcing the panel, said “As media companies increase their focus on business models, economic realities are affecting the way journalists work. Instead of a ‘strict separation’ between the business and editorial sides, journalists are being asked how they create value for the company that can be monetized, while still meeting their responsibilities to public service and truth telling.”

An O’Dwyer website poll on branded media resulted in 52% of respondents saying it is a “necessary evil,” 29% saying it is “a great PR practice,” and 19% saying it is “unethical.”

The next event in the News Innovation Lab Conversation series will be Nov. 16. The sessions take place in the Microsoft building at 11 Times Square.